Civil Servant in a Romance Fantasy - Chapter 902



902 – There is no paradise where you run away – 1

I already knew that the Pope had decided to retire while he was still alive.

I still wonder why he told me, an outsider, about such an important matter, but I knew about it anyway, so I prepared myself mentally.

When you hear news that the Pope has been replaced, be prepared to just say, “Oh, that’s right.” Or be prepared to support the retirement of the Pope as a living blessed or saint.

‘What the heck is this?’

But this situation was completely unexpected.

When the attention of the priests was focused on the tremendous event of the canonization while alive, I had no idea that a bomb would explode right before the priests were about to give a standing ovation.

“Your Holiness! You have followed the Lord’s will more faithfully than anyone else, and have devoted yourself to the believers! As the Pope of the Church, you have never been lacking in anything, so how can you say such a thing?”

“Are you perhaps tired? If so, it is because our elders have not been able to properly assist Your Majesty! Rather, we will step down and select new elders, so please do not say such cruel words about Your Majesty stepping down!”

“Yes, Your Majesty! If anyone has to step down, it is we who are lacking!”

Perhaps because my eyes were closed, I could hear the priests’ cries more clearly.

Naturally, all the priests simultaneously cried out in opposition. Even if a tyrant is putting on a show of abdication, it is proper to stop him out of courtesy, but the current pope is a saintly king and a leader who is no different from a wise king. From the priests’ point of view, it is a situation where they have to stop him while foaming at the mouth.

Moreover, it is admirable that he is simultaneously trying to dissuade the Pope from retiring and leading public opinion to say, “It would be better for the elders to retire!” Who on earth would wage such an artistic public opinion war? The law is different from that of ordinary people.

‘This place is similar to the empire.’

The Empire, the pinnacle of the secular world, and the Church, the pinnacle of the religious world. Since they are both pinnacles, the way their administrations operate seems similar. The ministers of the Empire and the leaders of the Church are all eagerly awaiting their chance to legally retire.

“I am grateful that you look upon this poor old man with kindness.”

While the priests were awkwardly kneeling amid their fervent opposition, the Pope who had detonated the bomb slowly stood up.

“But, dear brothers and sisters, this old man’s last wish and desire is to remain as a Pope. To be remembered only as a servant of the Lord, a servant of servants.”

“Your Majesty. Then even more so─!”

“I don’t want to be anything more than that.”

Silence fell over the Pope’s gentle yet firm words.

If you want to be remembered as the Pope, you just have to stay in office until you die. Given the current Pope’s abilities and character, it shouldn’t be difficult to keep your position.

In the first place, whether it be secular or religious, 99% of leaders die while sitting on their thrones. Even the terrible tyrants of the last days of Libnoman’s direct line did a great job of maintaining their positions.

But the Pope has said he does not want to be considered a being above the Pope. He is reluctant to be treated as something greater than just being remembered as the Pope.

‘It’s not a dangerous level.’

Even from my perspective as an outsider and not particularly devout, I think the current Pope is a great Pope.

In fact, even the word “great” is an understatement. To the point where it wouldn’t have been strange if it had been the Pope, not me, who had been canonized while he was alive.

‘First of all, he is a nobleman whose posthumous reputation is certain.’

Just thinking about the major achievements that come to mind right away is splendid. During the current Pope’s reign, the World Tree was revived, a council was held, and the resurrected King of the Dead was defeated at lightning speed, so the grounds for canonization are not only sufficient, but excessive.

In such a situation, will the Pope continue to reign in power? Will the Pope, who passed the enormous and radical agenda of canonization while alive, and the Pope who is passionate enough to push through the Council, reign for at least several more years?

If that happens, there will be a force that praises Pope Baltsack 37, not the Pope of Enen. Perhaps it has already emerged.

“I want to remain the Pope to my brothers and sisters and to all the faithful who receive the grace of the Lord.”

Knowing that, the priests who had been raising their voices must have all fallen silent.

The priests who attended the canonization ceremony were people with strong faith and conviction. How could such people force the Pope to walk the path of a living idol?

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

However, if this world were a world where problems could be solved only through empathy, there would be no such thing as law or custom.

“The church still needs you, Your Holiness.”

Even if we understand the Pope’s feelings, it is a separate issue to simply retire him.

The retirement of a leader before his death should be an event that only occurs in special circumstances, rare and rare cases, and when it is truly unavoidable. If the retirement of a leader before his death occurs frequently, the authority of the leader will decline, and power will not be concentrated in the hands of the predecessor who stepped down behind the scenes rather than the official leader.

Situations and emperors, kings and popes, former popes and current popes. A shocking situation can arise where the real power holders and nominal leaders reign separately.

“Of course, we too can fully understand His Holiness’s heart as a priest. His Holiness’s heart to remain as a priest and as a Pope. How could we not understand that?”

Soon I heard footsteps approaching me and the Pope.

Someone has already taken up the gun. Despite the Pope’s surprise retirement announcement, despite the chaos, someone has come forward to speak out on behalf of the priests.

‘Why is it unfamiliar?’

But something feels strange. The voice of the person carrying the gun, I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere before.

‘ah.’

I turned my head slightly and saw the owner of the strangely familiar voice.

Cardinal Pedro Otbaja, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and a political opponent of the Pope, has stepped forward.

‘…why?’

No, really, why would you? Isn’t it good for the growth of the static doctrine of the faith when the Pope retires?

‘Even the Pope seems embarrassed.’

Even the Pope, who always had a warm smile on his face, seemed not to have expected this situation, and his eyes twitched slightly.

It’s a headache. I tried to go home after the canonization ceremony, but I couldn’t even leave the church, let alone go home.

Besides, the atmosphere is ambiguous… I haven’t even gotten up yet…

Fortunately, no freestyle rap battle took place in the cathedral.

From noble mtl dot com

On the auspicious day of the birth of a living saint, isn’t it rude to debate in a sacred place? And the issue of the Pope’s retirement is not something that can be decided on the spot, so it was decided to take ample time to discuss it.

From the Pope’s perspective, he would have wanted to use the heat of the canonization ceremony to half-confirm his retirement. It is a situation that has been stranded due to the hindrance of growth in the doctrine of the faith.

“Things are getting a little complicated.”

Anyway, after the Pope and General Meng-gun of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith came and went, I had a meeting that wasn’t really a meeting with Tanian.

“I knew that His Majesty had decided to retire, but I didn’t think he would do it right after the canonization ceremony.”

I almost sighed at those words.

If even the next saint, Tanian, didn’t know, then no one knew. Somehow, even the secretary-general ran to the pope with a blank expression.

“And I had no idea that Your Majesty would object.”

Although the sentence was missing a subject, it was immediately clear who it was referring to.

Even though all the priests were confused by the Pope’s surprise announcement and heartbreaking words, “I want to remain the Pope,” the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who alone maintained his sanity and quickly took up the mantle, could not hide his bewilderment at the opposition of the most unexpected person.

“Have there been any reconciliation between His Holiness the Pope and the Presiding Bishop of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith?”

It’s an absurd thing to say, even when I think about it, but it’s to the point where such a thing comes out.

Could it be that the two giants, who are called static, have reconciled dramatically? Could it be that Seong-gong shouted his opposition because he did not want the one who had finally reconciled to step down?

“That’s not it. The two of you just went your separate ways due to differences in beliefs, not emotionally. You’ve never fought, so there’s no need to reconcile.”

“Well, I guess so.”

I frowned because the answer was even more of a headache.

It’s not a conflict of interests, but a conflict of beliefs. So, emotionally, it’s not a relationship where you really fight. In some ways, isn’t that kind of relationship more complicated? You can somehow adjust interests, but there’s no answer for beliefs.

“Oh, really. I feel bad for giving a new adult a headache.”

After a brief silence, Tanian stood up with a bitter smile and bowed towards me.

He went beyond simply bowing his head, he bent his waist. And he did so at an undeniably perfect 90-degree angle.

“Tongue, brother! How can a saint bow down to a mere believer? Although I have been given the name of a saint, you are the saint chosen by the Lord!”

“I am not yet a full-fledged saint. I am not a saint, a cardinal, or a bishop. I am just an ordinary believer who must be respectful before the saints.”

‘What is that?’

The words “Stop talking nonsense” rose to the top of my lungs as my logic became nonsensical.

What does it matter if you are the next saint? Everyone on the continent already treats you like a true saint. Even the Pope thinks of you as a saint.

‘This is the only time you bring up the next tag.’

Cowardly, Tanian Enes.

It seems that he was infected by the ugly and eccentric Ryutis during his three years at the Academy.

***

I drank tea in silence at a gathering of conservative cardinals.

“Yes.”

But unfortunately, my impatient compatriots don’t seem to have the luxury of waiting even for the elderly’s leisurely tea time.

“What on earth is going on? Your Majesty has stepped down.”

“Don’t ask me. From what I’ve seen, it seems like this is the first time I’ve heard of Secretary Seong’s growth. Do you think I would understand?”

“But didn’t Your Majesty object most strongly? Because you had something to say to His Majesty─”

“What are you talking about? Since His Majesty is stepping down of his own accord, it is only natural that we should stop him as a matter of course. Did he break the doctrine or prioritize private interests over the public good? There was no problem at all.”

The cardinal who had opened his mouth to speak on my behalf kept his mouth shut.

‘What the hell is going on?’

Silence fell again, so I drank some tea and collected my thoughts.

It is true that I have not had any conversation with His Majesty. This retirement announcement was a surprise statement from His Majesty.

At the same time, the reason I dissuaded His Holiness was because he was a great pope, but

‘If His Holiness steps down now, the next pope will come from the conservative party.’

This is the biggest reason. If things go wrong, the next pope could be elected from our conservative camp.

Of course, since the Council, the progressives have been overwhelming the conservatives. The combined power of all the progressive cardinals easily surpasses that of the conservatives.

But if you look at the individual progressive cardinals, unfortunately, all the progressive cardinals are worse than me. If things go wrong, I could be elected as the next pope. That would be difficult.

‘We need to buy time for the progressive side to unify.’

Frankly, if His Holiness truly wants to retire, no one can stop him. It is true that His Holiness is old, and he has used up a lot of political power by carrying out various large-scale agendas during his term.

But it won’t work right away. If the next pope, who will lead a major reform of the church, is a conservative leader like me, the church will be stranded at the most critical moment.

‘It’s going to be a headache for people until the end.’

His Holiness was resentful. He would rather have the conservatives vote for a decent cardinal among the liberals, but the pope elected that way would inevitably become a puppet of the conservatives.

In that case, it would be better for me to become the Pope. If I were to become the Pope, it would be right to wait for the unification of the progressives.

‘When you get old, you should die.’

Because I am in a position where I have to take the opposing faction into consideration for the future of the church.

If His Majesty steps down, I think I will step down too.